Pipe spinner



A. L. STONE Sept. 19, 1950 PIPE SPINNER Filed Aug. 1, 1947 2Sheets-Sheet 1 |NvENToR /WLZM/ ATTORNEY.

Sept. 19, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 1, 1947 FIG.

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FIG.

Patented Sept. 19, 1950 PIPE SPINN ER Albert L. Stone, Palos VerdesEstates, Calif., as-

signor, by mesne assignments, lto Standard Oil Development Company,Elizabeth, N. J., a corporation of Delaware Application August 1, 1947,SerialN 0. 765,303

4 Claims.

'Ihe present invention is directed to a device for spinning cylindricalstructural members.

When using structural members having a cylindrical surface in commercialoperations, it is ofttimes desirable ,or necessary to rotate suchlmembers. An example of a commercial operation of this type is in thedrilling of wells using sections -oi `pipe as the drill stem carryingthe drill bit .with` the sections of pipe yconnected together by screwthreads. In such an operation it is conventional to make up the pipejoints first by spinning the section to be added while holding theremainderof the drill stem against rotation and subsequently tonging byholding the pipe on one side of the joint and giving the pipe on theother side of the yjoint arcuate motion by means of the tong engagedtherewith. Likewise, when i disconnecting a `section of pipe from theremainder of the drill stem, it is conventional to break the joint byrst .using a tong and then spinning. In such operations it is desirableto provide a means adapted to be readily engaged with and disengagedfrom a section of pipe and which is capable of rotating or spinning thepipe when engaged therewith.

It is an object oi the present invention to devise a means adaptedl forrotating or spinning cylindrical structural members.

It is another object of the present invention tov provide a device whichmay be readily engaged with and disengaged from a section of pipe bymoving the device in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axisof the pipe and which is capable of rotating the `pipe about itslongitudinal axis when engaged therewith.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention may be seen from areading of the following description taken in conjunction with thedrawing in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of a modification of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an elevation, partly in section, of the embodiment of Fig. 1but showing the parts in position to engage a pipe for spinning asection of pipe; n

Fig. 3 is a View taken along line III-III of Fig.. 1;

Fig. 4` isa view taken along the line IV-IV of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is a view taken along line V-V of Fig. 1.

Before describing in detail the embodiment shown in the dra-wing, it isto be noted that the frame portion is indicated as terminating in abroken line. It will be understood that the frame may be extended forengagement with a suitable supporting means,.such as a column, but suchksupporting means in itself does not constitute a part of the presentinvention'. `In order to simplify the drawing nofshowing of anadditional portion of the frame is made. l

Turning now specifically to the drawing, `a frame A has mounted thereoncrank arm assemblies B `and C. A cylinder assembly D is arranged tomotivate crank arm assemblies B and C. A prime mover F is mounted on theframe. A plurality of spinning belts G are `carried by sheaves, saidspinning-belts being adapted to engage `with a section of drill pipe and`being adapted to spin said section when so engaged.

Crank arm assembly B includes arm II which is mounted on a stub axle I2for angular movement about the axis thereof. For convenience indescribing the operation of arm `I-I one end will be designated as thefree and the other end as the restrained end. The restrained end ofcrank arm assembly A `is restrained by piston assembly D.

`Piston assembly D includes cylinder t5 having piston I6 slidablyvmounted therein. Piston rod II has one end connected to the piston andthe other end secured to the restrained end of arm II through piston rodpinv I8. The free end vof armv I I has mounted thereon stub axle I3parallel with axle I2 with a sheave I4 mounted thereon for rotation.

Crank arm assembly C is similar to crank arm assembly B and includes anarm member 2| mounted for angular movement about stub axle 2-21andhaving a restrained end and a free end.` Mounted on the free end is stub-axle 23 with a sheave 24 mounted thereon for rotation about an axisparallel to that of axle 22. The restrained end of arm 2l is restrainedby attachment to cylinder I5 of assembly D.

From the arrangement of crankarm assembly B, cylinder assembly D andcrank arm assembly C, it :will `be v'seen that movement of piston I Etoward the `crank end of respective piston assembly D `will causesheaves I4` and 24 to move toward each other while the movement ofpiston t6` away from the crank end of cylinder assembly D will causesheaves I4 and 24 to move away from each other.

Frame A denes a slot 30 adapted toY receive the `stand of pipe withwhich the spinner assembly is to be engaged. For convenience, theeentral line of slot'3ll is shown by line 3l. Frame A is so proportionedthat the center of thesection of pipe engaged with the device willcoincide with point 32. The longitudinal axis vof frame `A` :is

3 designated as 33 and passes through pipe center 32.

Prime mover F is slidably mounted on frame A. Frame A is provided with amachined surface 34 upon which a corresponding machined surface 35 ofprime mover assembly F rests.

Prime mover assembly F is biased away from pipe center 32 by means ofsprings 3b and 31. Prime mover assembly F has secured thereto pins 38and 39 which project through longitudinally extending slots 40 and 4l,respectively, in frame A. Spring 36 has one end secured to pin 33 andthe other end secured to frame A by means of pin 42. Similarly, spring31 has one end attached to pin 39 and the other end attached to frame Aby means of pin 43.

It will be understood that any suitable prime mover may be employed forassembly F, but in order to simplify the showing in the drawing, nodetails of construction of the prime mover assembly are shown. Theassembly F is adapted to rotate a shaft M which extends downwardlythrough a suitable longitudinally extending slot d in frame A and has asheave 46 mounted thereon for rotation about an axis parallel to axlesI3 and 23 upon which sheaves la and 2li, respectively, are mounted.

Axle l2 not only provides the mounting means for arm assembly B but inaddition serves as thev mounting means of sheave 4l. Similarly, axle 22not only serves as a mounting means for arm assembly C but in additionserves as a mounting means for sheave 48. It will be evident thatsheaves 4l and 48 are arranged to rotate about axes fixed with respectto frame A.

Sheaves I4, 24, 36, il and 4B are provided with grooves to receive aplurality of belts G. Belts G, which are carried by these sheaves, areindividually designated as G9, '50, 5l, 52, 53 and 5d. These belts areof equal lengths and are mounted on the sheaves to define paths ofmovement identical in configuration. The power for causing movement ofthe belt is provided by prime mover F and is transmitted through shaft Mto sheave 46.

Movement of prime mover F along axis 33 away from point 32 is limited bystop 55 while movement of the prime mover toward point 32 is limited byadjustable stop 55 having ends arranged to t in any pair of notches 5lwhich may be selected by the operator.

The appearance of belt assembly G when the entire spinning assembly isbeing moved into position prior to engagement with a section of pipe isshown in Fig. l. It will be seen in this figure that the section of thebelt assembly between sheaves I4 and 24 deiines a straight line andsheaves I4 and 24 are extended away from each other. The belt assembly Gis engaged with a section of pipe by moving frame A laterally so thatpressure will be exerted between belt assembly G and the wall of thepipe in a direction along the line 3| of frame A while either norestraint is imposed by the cylinder assembly D or else a bias isexerted by this assembly to move piston rod pins i8 and 28 away fromeach other. Under such conditions the belt assembly G will assume theconguration shown in Fig. 2 with a portion of each belt of the assemblyengaged with a portion of a periphery of the pipe. When the beltassembly G has assumed the position shown in Fig. 2, additionalfrictional force may be ex-.

erted between the belt assembly G and the pipe by exerting a hydraulicpressure by suitable means, not shown. in the cylinder assembly D toforce the piston I6 toward the crank end of thel cylinder assembly.After suicient force is exerted against the restrained ends of the crankarm assemblies B and C to engage the belt assembly with the pipe, powermay be transmitted from prime mover F to power sheave 43 to causemovement of belt assembly G and spinning of pipe engaged by the beltassembly G for the interval of time desired. For example, if a sectionof pipe is being spun to remove it from another section the spinningwill be continued until the threads of the spun section are disengaged.If on the other hand a section of pipe is to be added to anothersection, the pipe will be spun until the joint is made up tlie desiredamount. Usually, if a section of pipe is being spun to make up a joint,the spinning will be continued until the friction of the threads in thejoints causes prime mover F to stall. When this occurs, the assembly maybe disengaged from the stand of pipe by releasing the pressure exertedagainst the piston it in piston assembly D, whereupon sheaves la?, and'2li may be moved away from each other by tension of springs 36 and 3lto allow belt assembly G to slip ofi the pipe with which it has beenengaged and resume the position shown in Fig. 1.

It will be obvious thatthe device of the present invention embodies anumber of advantages. The device may be readily engaged with anddisengaged from a section of pipe by angular movement of the deviceabout an axis parallel to the axis of the pipe to be rotated. Thisarrangement allows the assembly to be employed advantageously forhandling and spinning pipe in making up and removing sections of pipefrom a drill stem used in conventional rotary drilling operations. Acolumn may be mounted to one side of the borehole with its axis parallelto the axis of the hole and the spinning assembly may be moved throughan arc about this column for engagement with sections of drill pipe tobe added to or disengaged from the drill stem. If desired, the beltassembly G may be engaged with a stand of drill pipe at the side of thederrick by exerting friction thereon by means of cylinder assembly D andwhen so engaged the spinning assembly may be used for supporting thesection of pipe from its lower end as it is moved laterally in aderrick. The pipe when so supported by the spinning assembly may bemoved either from the axis of the borehole to the side of the derrick orfrom the side of the derrick to the axis of the borehole. The spinningassembly of the present invention is particularly adapted to be used asa part of the assembly described and claimed in my co-pendingapplication entitled Apparatus for Handling Pipe in a Derrick, SerialNo. 692,201, filed August 22, 1946 and for use in handling pipe asdescribed and claimed in my copending application entitled Method forHandling Vertical Sections of Pipe in a Derrick, Serial No. 753,591, ledJune 9, 1947.

While I have disclosed a specific embodiment of the present invention,it will be understood by a workman skilled in the art that variouschanges in the sizes, shapes and proportions of the parts thereof may bechanged without departing from the scope of the invention.

Having fully described and illustrated a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention, what is desired to be claimed as new and useful andto be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. A pipe spinner comprising, in combination, a frame, a rst crank armmounted on the frame for rotation about an axis perpendicular to thevvlongitudinal axis of the frame and having a free end and a restrainedend, a second crank arm mounted on the frame for rotation about a fixed`axis parallel to and spaced from the axis of rota- 'tion of the rstcrank arm and having a free end and a restrained end, a power meanscomprising a cylinder with a piston slidable therein,

said cylinder beingr operably connected to the restrained end of one ofsaid crank arms and the piston being operably connected to therestrained end of the other crank arm, a first sheave mounted on thefree end of the first crank arm for rotation about an axis parallel withthe axis of rotation of the crank arm, a second sheave mounted onthefree end of the second crank arm for rota tion about an axis parallelwith the axis of rotation of the second crank arm, a prime mover ymounted on said frame, a third sheave mounted said frame `and a springis arranged to bias said sheave away from the remaining sheaves.

3; A pipe spinner comprising, in combination, a frame, a rst crank armmounted on the frame for pivoting about an axis perpendicular to thelongitudinal axis of the frame and having a free end and a restrainedend, a second crank arm mounted on the frame yfor pivoting about a fixed6 axis parallel to and spaced from the axis of rotation of the rst crankarm and having a free end and a restrained end, power means operablyconnected to the restrained ends of said first and 5 second crank armsadapted for moving said restrained ends toward and away from each other,

a rst sheave mounted on the free end of the rst crank arm for rotationabout an axis paralilel with the axis of rotation of the crank arm, a

second sheave mounted on the free end of the second crank arm forrotation about an axis parallel with the axis of the rotation of thesecond crank arm, a prime mover mounted on said frame,

a sheave mounted on the frame for rotation about an axis parallel to theaxes oi the iirst and second sheaves and arranged for rotation by saidprime mover and a belt mounted on the sheaves adaptm ed to engage with aportion of the periphery of the pipe for spinning said pipe.

4. A device in accordance with claim 3 in which a plurality ofadditional sheaves are mounted on the frame for rotation about axesparallel with the axes of the rst, second and third sheaves and in whichsaid belt, is carried by all of said 25 sheaves.

ALBERT L. STONE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number

